A new report released on Wednesday by UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says 138 million minors were engaged in child labour worldwide in 2024.

The figure includes 54 million children in work likely to jeopardise their health and safety.

Child labour occurs most frequently in agriculture, with sub-Saharan Africa being the worst-hit, where 87 million children are affected.

The figures, however, show a decline in child labour to 138 million in the 2021-24 period, down from 160 million in the 2016-20 period.

Nevertheless, the target of eliminating child labour by 2025, included in UN Development Goals, will not be reached.

The report came ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour, which is being marked on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the UNICEF Germany Head, Christian Schneider, said “the new child labour report underlines the grim reality that millions of children are still being denied the right to learn, to play and simply be children in spite of all progress. The successes achieved pointed the way ahead through legal protection, better social protection, investment in free and high-quality education and work with dignity and fair pay for adults. These are effective instruments for protecting children from child labour.”

(dpa/NAN)